Since 2008, designer and gemologist Maria Ress has created stunning, luxury pieces inspired by her worldwide travels in particular her birthplace in Thessaly, Greece. You will see the dreamy Mediterranean starscape in the Astral Necklaces and the sliced bezel diamonds in the Olympia Collection are a homage to Alexander the Great’s mother.

One of the greatest rewards of her work is observing women instantly connect to a specific piece. Ress describes the attraction, “It’s like the piece is made just for them and they can actually feel its pull.” She finds that people gravitate toward a gemstone depending on a want or need in their current life. For example, labradorite, which is infused throughout the collection, is known to aide in self-discovery, and it is excellent for awakening one's own awareness of inner spirit, intuition and psychic abilities. Ress loves playing with sliced diamonds, lapis lazuli, and monstoones to infuse color into the collection while appreciating the healing quality of each stone.

Ress currently lives in Chicago with her high school sweetheart and her three beautiful children. Each piece in her collection is designed in Chicago, created with the most stunning stones from across the globe, and dedicated to strong, confident women worldwide.